Reflect some of the ways that you want to assess your students, i.e. monitor whether they are understanding what you're teaching.
The main way in which I plan to assess my students is to address the topics I want the students to know multiple times in a variety of ways. This will allow me to realize whether or not the students are understanding the material, rather than "faking" their way through an assignment. I have also been gauging the students' understanding when we review answers. Some of the students are reluctant to share answers, but by asking them in multiple ways, I can gauge whether or not they are understanding. For formal grades, I will be giving the students short quizzes. These quizzes cover about a weeks worth of material and take the sudents around 45 minutes in general. I am continuing this method because that is what my CT does. I am also adding in a writing assignment that will cover a broad range of material.
Describe your grading policy, i.e. how you will assign scores to represent performance. Explain why you are using this method. If you are continuing your CT's grading policy, explain what you feel are some of its strengths and weaknesses.
I am planning on using my CT's method of grading because we decided that it would be best for the students to keep the method of grading consistent. She does not count homework as any portion of the grade (the students don't know this, as an attempt to get them to do their work). My CT uses quizzes worth 100 points each. She also gives a few assignments that are worth the same as the quizzes. To determine the final average, she simply averages all the grades. She lets all the students retake the quizzes if they want. I have not yet decided how I feel about the grading method. Taking the philosophy of grading that grades are simply a reflection what you know, this form of grading makes sense. However I can't help but feel like I am cheating the hard-workers out of the credit they deserve. I see students slack off and not study, but do well on the quizzes and then I see very hardworking students that always do their homework, fail on the quizzes. I think ideally there should be two separate grades, one for content knowledge and one for effort. At this age I think it is important to acknowledge student's efforts because they may not excel in my subject, but the skill of being a hard-worker can get them far in other areas.
The main way in which I plan to assess my students is to address the topics I want the students to know multiple times in a variety of ways. This will allow me to realize whether or not the students are understanding the material, rather than "faking" their way through an assignment. I have also been gauging the students' understanding when we review answers. Some of the students are reluctant to share answers, but by asking them in multiple ways, I can gauge whether or not they are understanding. For formal grades, I will be giving the students short quizzes. These quizzes cover about a weeks worth of material and take the sudents around 45 minutes in general. I am continuing this method because that is what my CT does. I am also adding in a writing assignment that will cover a broad range of material.
I am planning on using my CT's method of grading because we decided that it would be best for the students to keep the method of grading consistent. She does not count homework as any portion of the grade (the students don't know this, as an attempt to get them to do their work). My CT uses quizzes worth 100 points each. She also gives a few assignments that are worth the same as the quizzes. To determine the final average, she simply averages all the grades. She lets all the students retake the quizzes if they want. I have not yet decided how I feel about the grading method. Taking the philosophy of grading that grades are simply a reflection what you know, this form of grading makes sense. However I can't help but feel like I am cheating the hard-workers out of the credit they deserve. I see students slack off and not study, but do well on the quizzes and then I see very hardworking students that always do their homework, fail on the quizzes. I think ideally there should be two separate grades, one for content knowledge and one for effort. At this age I think it is important to acknowledge student's efforts because they may not excel in my subject, but the skill of being a hard-worker can get them far in other areas.